m30 conversion help

Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:35 pm

just wanted some help
im in the process of buying complete m30b35 engine conversion for a e30 from mike gaynor he has set it at position 3 and i assume on manual steering.
is it okay to run it like that or postion 2/1??
is there need for power steering??
also is it possible to turbo it? wat costs are involed and parts needed pistons,big ends ,head work....etc
and how easy it to obtain standard exhaust manifold
thamks

Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:41 pm

Position 3 is the best overall, helps with weight distribution.
Personal preference to PAS, i'd have it though.
You can turbo it or even supercharge it. DRIFTBOY on here has a M30 turbo

Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:21 pm

As said position three is best to help with the weight of the m30,also with an m30 power steering is a must unless you have forearms like popeye.

there is a couple of threads here where folks have turbo'd there m30 do a search and read through a couple

i was tempted into buying this conversion off mike gaynor.
good luck with it!

Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:29 pm

sag wrote:just wanted some help
im in the process of buying complete m30b35 engine conversion for a e30 from mike gaynor he has set it at position 3 and i assume on manual steering.
is it okay to run it like that or postion 2/1??
is there need for power steering??
also is it possible to turbo it? wat costs are involed and parts needed pistons,big ends ,head work....etc
and how easy it to obtain standard exhaust manifold
thamks

If you put the engine in either 2/1 you'll have difficulty in putting in a rad in the front.
It will have to be smaller and the front rail has to be cut and a bar welded in place.
Pos 3 is the best for wieght distribution and you can still use your p/steering no probs.
You can safely turbo or supercharge the M30 to 300bhp on stock internals as it will take a bit more, but not recommended.
Changing internals is big money, but depending on what you want to use the car for, it's up to you.

Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:09 am

i think it will take more than 300 horses without the need for internal mods... all down to mapping it safely !!!... downpipes are not much of an issue, mines fitted with e34 downpipes which clears ... power steering is a must i'd say ! and as mentioned above.. position 3 is best .. mines was position 2 and i couldnt fit a rad in there !!!

Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:13 am

Did you move it over to pos 3 int the end??

Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:53 pm

RAV NOT YET ..........ILL KEEP U LOT POSTED .....I STILL NEED TO GET THE ENGINE FIRST
JUST THINKING ABOUT WHICH CONVERSION IM GOING TO DO 2.5/3.5 / M3 NON EWS

Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:39 pm

What engine have you got in your car at the moment?

Take the cap's lock off dude

Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:52 pm

at the mo its running on a m20 2.0l engine
when i bought the car dec 07 i was going on the m30b35 route but my mate stacked is e30 which had the b6 conversion i tryed to nick the engine of him he wouldnt have it .... i tryed to convince for bout year but still to this date its still sitting in his garage.. then i ended up buying 2nd e30 a 323 which needed sum work on it and still to this date its sitting at my garage with my 1st e30. both cars are sorned at the mo

so im having the prob of choosing the which conversion and on wat car

Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:58 pm

Is it a 2 door? If so, then you will need to change the suspension as well, brakes/discs.

Sun Feb 22, 2009 12:37 am

what's the problem with ews?

Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:22 am

ImysE30 wrote:Is it a 2 door? If so, then you will need to change the suspension as well, brakes/discs.

You have to uprate the suspension and brakes wether its a 2 or 4 door

Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:38 am

My car ran fine on standard suspension with this engine, as have a couple of mates who've had them in 320i's and 318is's. The brakes are also fine, my car ran as a competition car and fast road car on standard brakes, standard pads, cheapo dot 4 fluid etc, all fine and safely, with a 1.6, 2.5, and 3.5 engine.

Unless you expect your brakes to magically improve when you fit the 3.5 engine, then you'll be fine. BMW brakes are fine even the lower models work well. Obviously for the complete package you'd be looking at upgrading stuff anyway, as standard suspension is soggy and horrible, but in terms of "necessary mods" it really isn't one of them.

Position 3 requires you to stove in the bulkhead a bit around where the back of the head will sit, and hammer in the floorpan right in the corner of the footwell is in the clutch-rest area to allow room for a better exhaust setup.

The e28 radiator provided should work fine with the standard crossmember etc, you'll just need to remove the mounts that stick out from the bottom of the chassis rails where the normal radiator mounts as the e28 radiator drops down another few inches below them. Then run an electric fan on the front of the rad pushing through it.

The engine doesn't come with the front pulley to run the PAS, but I have one anyway so will include that for you so just bolt it on if you want it. I'll probably have a PAS pump or bracket etc too I'll just bung it all in with the engine it's no use to me anymore now I'm leaving the beloved m30 crew! Seems I'll be running 1JZ power

Tue Feb 24, 2009 8:37 am

Position 3 requires you to stove in the bulkhead a bit around where the back of the head will sit, and hammer in the floorpan right in the corner of the footwell is in the clutch-rest area to allow room for a better exhaust setup.

You don't have to "Stove " in the bulkhead, only a few well tought hits is fine and no hammering in the corner of the floorpan for the exhaust set is need either, didn't do either on mine and all is ok.

I would still recommend a brake upgrade though as I found out the hard way on mine by overshooting a junction while travelling a bit quickly

Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:32 am

didnt do any massaging of my bulkhead at all!

Tue Feb 24, 2009 12:40 pm

OK, I should have said "to make things easier"

I like making future jobs easier on my car though I guess, hense moving the brake master cyl/servo into the car, stripping all wiring out of the engine bay, moving the clutch reservoir and coil etc.

Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:49 pm

MJG wrote:OK, I should have said "to make things easier" I like making future jobs easier on my car though I guess, hense moving the brake master cyl/servo into the car, stripping all wiring out of the engine bay, moving the clutch reservoir and coil etc.

That's all ok, but for the majority of us, there is minimum work needed to do a M30 conversion.